How to ace the IB: Top IB tips from IB 45 graduate Jackson Huang

A curated selection of Jackson’s best Quora answers for acing the IB Diploma.

In this blog post, I share the best IB tips and advice that I’ve written on Quora in the past year. These are my best answers to the most common questions I get about acing the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma program.

Overall thoughts about the IB

What is your review of the IB?

During the IB, I had my ups and downs but overall, I think taking the International Baccalaureate was a very rewarding experience that I wouldn’t hesitate to live through again. Sure–it was stressful at times and resembled the insides of a rice cooker, but hey! That’s how you improve and learn and grow. As a result of the IB, I gained a lot of incredible opportunities (ahem, international travel), knowledge and preparation for life beyond high school.

How does it feel to get a perfect score of 45 in the IB?

Getting an IB 45 was an incredible relief. I had been working towards that goal since the start of the IB, which was when I’d first heard the legendary stories of veteran IB kids scoring that magic number: 45. Apart from making me feel good for a while, an IB 45 also had other benefits…

Specific IB tips and study hacks

What are the best tips for getting through the IB Diploma Program?

Success in most things–whether it be basketweaving or basketball–comes down to two factors: working your butt off, and being consistent about working your butt off (that is, you can’t work your butt off in short bursts; you must do it in a sustainable and long-term manner). All the high-scoring IB graduates were in it for the long haul. Are you?

How to manage your time–for the IB student

Time management is surprisingly hard. You are so many options! You can use sticky notes, to-do lists, calendars, reminders, your BRAIN, … How do you decide what’s the best choice? That’s a trap question that we fall into all the time, because there is no ‘perfect’ choice or method to manage your time. It totally depends on the person. In this Quora answer, I talk about what time management techniques and tools worked effectively for me. Hopefully you can gain some inspiration 🙂

How you should prepare for your final year of IB

Get ready to do some work on your holidays before your final year of IB begins. You’ll want to stay ahead. I invested some quality time into studying the subjects in which I needed to improve the most, and so should you. Maths HL was (and is) particularly daunting. So is Physics. And English… And most IB subjects. Early preparation is always the best policy.

English

What can I do to get a 7 in IB English Language and Literature?

Scoring a 7 in IB English comes down not just to practice, but also–and I think, most importantly–to correct guidance. You can practise something all day, but if you aren’t told to do the correct thing, then all of that practice is wasted. Our LitLearn analysis courses are developed by IB 45 graduates who have tried and tested their strategies in real IB exams. The skills that we teach you are relevant, proven, and get you from zero to hero in no time. It’s probably the best IB English tutoring out there!

The ONE IB tip you need to know for IB English commentaries

This single piece of advice–if you don’t apply it already in your exam strategy–will definitely improve the quality of your IB English commentaries. In my opinion, it’s the most important part of the whole commentary process, and yet so many IB students don’t do it enough…

Mathematics

Exactly how hard is IB Maths HL?

This is one of my favourite Quora answers. In this answer, I talk about how HL Maths has a bad and inaccurate reputation, and that it’s not so bad when we strip away the copious layers of stigma, hysteria and fear that have been slapped onto this rather innocent subject. Really. Maths HL isn’t that bad.

How should I prepare for my final IB Maths HL exams?

IB kids always seem to enjoy skipping the basic steps and jumping right to the past exams. This is a very bad idea. Taking a gradual approach to preparing for your IB Maths exams is a much, much better plan of attack…